Around April 12, 1848

After a sixteen-year hiatus, cholera was once again on the doorstep of New Orleans. On December 30, 1848, reports from Pittsburgh began circling that cholera was the responsible agent for thirteen deaths aboard steamships known as the Diadem, the Watkins, and the Savannah; all of which had docked in the New Orleans harbor. A message from Cincinnati stated that fourteen people aboard the Peytona, which...

As of May 2, 1847 the New Orleans Court Recorder reported that thousands of whites had been sentenced to the workhouse for acts of vagrancy. Often times the courts handed down these sentences without proof, trial, or opportunity to appeal. The fate of these vagrants represents a common occurrence throughout the South. Around this time period in South Carolina the leadership sold vagrants into...

The white population of Culpeper County, Virginia was dismayed when their church services were inexcusably disrupted by the boisterous activities of some African Americans. As a petition to the State Legislature, drafted by a number of the county's white citizens in 1846, states, their worshipping services are of late so interrupted by drinking, particularly by Negroes on the Sabbath, that they...

Around 1846, the students of Centenary College decided to take a stand. Fifty-three of the pupils signed a petition for the removal of a professor from their institute of higher education. In adding their names to the list, the students accused Professor Jones of, participating in ... the shooting of the boys Unfortunately, the petition gave no further explanation of the alleged incident. However,...

On January 23, 1849 at the graduation ceremony at Geneva Medical College, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in America to receive a degree to practice medicine. The traditional commencement ceremony and distribution of diplomas was held in the college’s Presbyterian Church. Within the hour before the ceremony began the Church was filled to maximum capacity. The audience present at the...

In February 1840, the Virginia Legislature was busy discussing the Lynchburg and Tennessee Railroad Bill. The Bill argued that the Southwestern part of Virginia needed access to major trade routes. The majority was in opposition to the original bill (for many reasons, particularly monetary), so Mr. Paxton of Rockbridge County, Virginia proposed a substitute bill, which was found more agreeable by...

One spring evening in May of 1847, Issac Hays, chairman of the newly established American Medical Association (AMA), stood from his seat surrounded by colleagues, having just finished creating the original code of ethics adopted by the AMA. The code, having since then been the standard of medical ethics in the United States, was modeled heavily on the ethical beliefs of the European physician...

It seems that John Murrell of Lynchburg, Virginia, was often away from his Louisiana plantation. Murrell bought Tally Ho Plantation in Iberville Parish in 1848. The plantation was run by an overseer named L. Hewett, who communicated with Murrell through a series of letters, most posted to an address in Lynchburg and some to an address in New Orleans. In the letters, Hewett told Murrell about the...

From the original letters between the Cameron family and their employees, slaves are often mentioned since they are an integral part of the plantation operation. Since the letters were not written or received by the slaves themselves, the language is often derogatory or just in reference to the slaves as property of value. These letters show the nature of the culture and the lack of respect and...

During the final examinations for girls at Greensboro Female College, a local newspaper commended the institution in its effort to develop and cultivate the intellect and give dignity to the mind while at the same time preparing women to bear with dignity the responsibilities and trials of the domestic state. According to the Greensboro Patriot, the sister women's college, Edgeworth, founded...